We don't need no high-end shops

After their fun in the pool, Nick and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin dried off and went back out to something else on their date. Once Nick went and changed his clothes, of course- his shirt hadn’t survived the fury of the assassin’s fingernails.

She looked at him pretty weirdly. From what Nick could tell, she intended to keep walking around on their date in just her swimsuit. Not that he was complaining; it just seemed like an odd thing to do, if you asked him.

Fortunately, it had dried off before they got to the movie theater. Nick wasn’t sure if she would be let in while she was still dripping with chlorine.

Another fortunate sign? Dakota could sense his intentions, and she had made sure there were plenty of spy movies available for Nick and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin to watch. And a couple horror movies too, for good measure.

“So what do you want to watch?” Nick asked, checking the time. “We should be able to watch a couple before dinner.”

It had just turned to lunchtime; instead of going to a restaurant, though, Nick thought it would be nice for Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin to enjoy the full experience of going to the movies; slurpees, overpriced candy, popcorn, and of course, the soggy hotdogs slathered in mustard and ketchup.

She was happy to accept- ice cream wasn’t the only junk food she had a fondness for, apparently, much to Nick’s delight.

He was less delighted by her choice of film, though. He’d been expecting her to continue the spy movie binge, but no- apparently, she wanted another bite of slasher horror first, which wasn’t his favorite genre in the world, but he would put up with it for her sake.

The smile on her face as she loudly sipped her soda and gobbled down the popcorn reminded him of a kid in a candy store. He was happy for her, he really was.

Seeing teenagers torn up by zombies, though, that wasn’t really great for his appetite.

After the horror movie was finished, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was eager to get to their next film. She practically dragged him to the neighboring theater (why couldn’t Dakota just keep playing the movies in the same one? Maybe because she wanted them to get an authentic experience) and they plopped right down there in the front row.

The lights dimmed and the movie had just started when Nick was surprised by an offer from Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin.

“Huh?” He glanced at the bucket of popcorn she offered to him. It had gotten magically refilled somehow (leave it to their movie buff of a host to make sure the quality of life at her favorite establishment on the island was top notch) and was topped off with gooey buttery goodness.

“You want me to have some?” He asked, touched by the generous gesture from the trained assassin.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s eyes twinkled, and she nodded cheerfully. Apparently she had noticed he’d just barely managed to finish off his hotdog.

Well… Nick was definitely still hungry, even for junk food. And just because his soul was nourished by the act of kindness from someone who usually didn’t even pay attention to stuff like that, that didn’t mean his stomach couldn’t use some support as well.

So he dug his hand and took a fistful, biting into it.

Delicious.

Somehow, it tasted even better than he remembered. Maybe because he was sharing it with someone else.

“Thanks,” he said, giving Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin a smile. She fluttered her eyelashes bashfully at him and grinned in return.

They watched the movie in silence, enjoying each other’s company, and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was filled with excitement and glee as she watched all the thrilling spy action.

Nick could tell by how much she enjoyed it- This was definitely her favorite genre.

He couldn’t say he blamed her, the movies were definitely intense and exciting.

It wasn’t that late when the movie ended. They probably could have squeezed in another one, but it would be close- they would have run up right until curfew if they pushed it too hard. And it seemed like Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was satisfied already. She pranced down the road in her shiny bikini with her head held high, and Nick followed after her as they walked through the Shopping District- he wondered if she was looking for something to eat, or for something else they could do.

Or maybe she was just content with him being there with her, and the two of them enjoying themselves on their date.

Then a thought occurred to him.

“Hey, you want to see if they finished with our pottery?” He asked, remembering the sloppy way their date had started. “It’s been a couple hours now.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin blinked and looked back at him, surprised. Then she nodded intently, her eyes narrowing with determination. Nick was nearly knocked over by how passionate she suddenly became.

She turned on her heels, and it was all Nick could do to keep up with her as she tore down the street; she didn’t even know where she was going!

And then- there it was, the pottery store.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin practically kicked the door down, storming into the store and planting her hands on her hips. She held her head up high and looked fiercely around the store, making a grand entrance as usual.

Nick sighed as he trudged in after her. “I’m glad to see you’re excited, but you don’t have to be so… intense all the time.”

She looked back at him and batted her eyelashes, smiling with a cute innocence as if she was trying to say “It wasn’t my fault!”

“Right, right, you’re just a sweet little innocent,” he said, rolling his eyes and smiling in amusement. He shook his head slowly and patted her on the back. “Sure you are.”

It was a miscalculation on his part. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s hand shot out and she curled her fingers around his wrist, yanking his hand up to her cheek and rubbing against it. Apparently, any amount of skin-on-skin contact was enough for her.

Then Nick remembered another one of her transformations that he had forgotten about, Tear Away.

God, is every one of her transformations designed to make her more horny!? Come on, audience, isn’t that a little excessive?! You don’t have to be so redundant! Nick wanted to complain. He looked down at her scantily-clad frame, and wondered…

Wait, no, it’s fine. That one only triggers when her clothes are torn off, so we’re safe for now.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s desire for skinship was completely natural, she was clinging to him just because she wanted to. And maybe because of his voice. But Nick doubted that was the strongest of her transformations when it came to heightening her arousal.

“Ahem.”

Nick and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looked up to see the brown faerie floating over the counter. She adjusted her glasses and gave them a sly look.

“If you two are going to flirt together, I can just leave…” she murmured teasingly, wiggling her eyebrows at them.

Nick rolled his eyes. “Come on. Are all you faeries secretly horndogs?”

The shopkeeper shrugged. “Just surprised to see you two back so soon,” she replied. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“You said to come back later so we could glaze our pottery,” Nick reminded her. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin nodded in agreement. “So… we’re back.”

The faerie blinked.

“Ah. It seems there’s been a misunderstanding,” she said, shaking her head. “There’s been a slight delay in our production schedule, so we had to postpone firing your… sculptures. They’ll be ready for you tomorrow!”

Nick wasn’t sure what to say to that at first. “Wait… tomorrow?” He questioned, shaking his head. “But…”

He glanced over at Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, who had a sour expression on her face. She didn’t need to talk for Nick to understand what she was thinking- it was the same thing he was thinking.

Our date is only today. Tomorrow, I’m going to have to spend time with other girls- Gina, more likely than not. It isn’t fair to give her two days in a row.

The fact that she was accepting that, and not putting up a fight, was something that Nick should have been proud of. But he couldn’t find it in him to be happy about the circumstances, given that he also wanted to spend more time with their pottery.

“Of course, if you want to glaze something else…” the faerie continued, looking slyly over at Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively again.

Nick sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Sorry,” he apologized, looking at his date. “I know you were looking forward to it, but… maybe we can another time?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin nodded, not even bothering to hide her disappointment. But when she saw Nick looking at her, she still tried to smile.

But her body language as they left the pottery shop was a lot more subdued and withdrawn. She walked slowly down the street, having lost her original strut. That hurt Nick to see.

Before he even realized it, he took her by the wrist and spun her around. She stared at him, surprised, and he was a little surprised himself.

He’d reached out to her on reflex, but now that he had, he didn’t know what exactly he should say to her.

“Um… look, don’t get down, okay?” He urged her, trying to **** a smile to his face. “Mary’s probably got a big dinner prepared for us back at the Master’s Suite, and once we get there, well… there’s all sorts of stuff we can get up to afterwards, right?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin stared at Nick for a second, her eyes wide with surprise. And then the smile returned to her lips, a real smile, and she nodded intently.

Nick appreciated the conspiratorial look on her face. It really spoke to him, and it was how he knew she was doing okay now.

But as he looked into her eyes, something that had slipped his mind rose back up to the surface, and he began to worry.

That’s right… I… I was still supposed to talk to her… try to help her learn how to read and write, or at least pick out a name. He had been looking for the perfect opportunity to bring it up, but he’d completely forgotten. And it had been a real shame- there were plenty of moments that he could have shared with her, if he’d thought about it.

The pottery shop. The swimming pool. Even the movie theater. All those moments together were better opportunities for him to bring this up than the one he found himself in.

But he knew that if he put this off for later, he would have bigger problems. They really needed to clear the air about this as soon as possible.

“Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin… w-we… we need to talk,” Nick said, his voice wavering slightly.

Her ears twitched and her eyes widened in alarm. She took her hand (the one he wasn’t holding) and pointed at her lips.

Nick winced. “I-I know,” he said, letting her go. “That… can you please just listen, then?” He begged her. “It’s important.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin wore an expression that Nick had never seen from her before. It wasn’t fear, but more like… worry? Concern, maybe?

Whatever it was, it wasn’t something he was used to seeing from the assassin. It made him hesitate, but only for a moment.

“…It’s about… how I can talk to you,” he said, not at all confident about how he could bring this up to her. “I mean… I don’t…”

Why is this so hard? Why can’t I say it?

Nick’s hands trembled, and he pushed past his discomfort.

“I don’t… want to keep calling you Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin,” he finally managed to spit out.

She looked at him, and her mouth fell open in shock. She tilted her head to the side and pointed forcefully at herself, her eyes turning sharp.

Nick cringed slightly but pushed forward. “Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin… that isn’t a name, you understand that, right? I know that’s how we’ve been referring to you, but… please? We really want… I mean… …It’s not just me. It’s everyone on the island, we all want to get to know you better, but it’s hard.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin bit her lip. For the first time today, she looked like she didn’t want to be anywhere near him. It hurt to see, but she didn’t run, either. She stood her ground and faced him down; but even with the fierce look in her eyes, for a moment he saw another flash of emotion-

Doubt and fear.

It was only for an instant, but in that instant, Nick didn’t see the cool, badass trained killer, he saw a sad and lonely little girl.

But only for an instant.

Nick pushed forward. “Can you please let me pick out a name for you?” He asked gently. “Or at least… pick one yourself? It would really help me connect with you better. A name, it’s… it’s something really special. Something personal. I can’t describe it, but…”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin fiercely shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

Nick was surprised by her hostility.

“So wait… it… it wasn’t… It’s not that you didn’t like the names we picked out for you… …Do you just not want a name at all?”

The flurry of emotions that crossed Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s face were even more complicated and difficult to decipher. But she didn’t nod or shake her head. She just stared at him, and gave him a resigned smile.

A shrug was the closest thing to an answer he got.

Nick could tell that there wasn’t anything else he could say right now to move this forward. There was no way to advance this conversation in the direction he wanted it to go- it wasn’t like he could **** her to accept a name.

He didn’t know why she wasn’t ready for him to give her one, but the fact was that she simply wasn’t. So instead of forcing the issue, he just nodded, and gave her the best smile he could. He didn’t want to bother her anymore with this, at least not now.

“…It’s alright,” he reassured her. “If you’re not ready, then you’re not ready. Who knows? Maybe someday, you’ll find that special name that just stands out to you, and you’ll want to take it for your own, right? Maybe.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s face brightened and she nodded cheerfully. That was reassuring enough for him- it showed that she was at least willing to consider the possibility.

Assuming she wasn’t just humoring him, of course.

Now then, there was something else he needed to bring up first.

“One other thing,” he said, choosing his next words carefully. “We can table the talk about names, but… it really is important that you learn how to read,” he said gently.

Immediately the assassin’s face soured again. She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, puffing up her cheeks.

“I mean it!” Nick said adamantly. He didn’t feel so bad about pushing this issue, since her reaction was a completely different kind of hostile opposition. “Look, reading and writing, they’re important things for people- they’re part of what makes us human. Are you really sure that you don’t want to…?”

His voice trailed off as he saw the blank stare on her face. Yep, she didn’t want to, that much was clear enough.

It wasn’t entirely up to her though, unfortunately.

“I’m serious,” he said. “Don’t you want to share your feelings with other people? I’m sure you’ve got a lot of things you’re thinking of all the time, but how can you express them if you can’t write them out?” Nick was trying very hard to ignore the elephant in the room, which was Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s inability to talk. Factoring in that, he could understand why she would be hesitant to learn other methods of communication.

That didn’t seem to be the issue, though.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was at least considering what he had to say, though. That was progress. It looked like his words had really sunk in! She seemed to be mulling over how she could share her feelings and thoughts with others if she didn’t write them-

Suddenly she lunged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his chest, pulling him in for a hug that practically glued her body to his.

Nick was stunned for a moment.

“Th-that… um…”

He looked down at her and she gazed back up at him, her eyes sparkling with intention.

Nick sighed. “I-I guess that… I guess that’s one way to express how you’re feeling,” he admitted in resignation. It wasn’t what he wanted, but if she was intent in expressing herself through body language and physical contact, rejecting that could hurt her severely.

I was determined to get to know her better today, and make a connection with her, Nick noted to himself. And this may not have been the way I intended to do it, but… …Still.

He sighed and hugged her back. This wasn’t that bad, all things considered. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had deep, intense feelings, anyone who knew her could see that. And she didn’t always express those feelings in the best ways. But right now, hugging him like this, she wasn’t hurting anyone.

She was just sharing her feelings the best way she knew how, and to him, that really meant something.

If a little physical contact is what she needs to feel cared for and loved, then it’s the least I can do, obliging her like this, Nick decided as he held her close. We still need to help her learn to read and write- she can’t avoid it forever. But it isn’t like we need to do that now.

For now, this could be enough, if it was enough for her. As long as she was smiling.